Many applications that can be installed on an electronic communication device involve interactions with other devices. Such applications include, without limitation, multi-player gaming, social media applications, mobile commerce applications, online auctions, file sharing applications, music sharing applications, location based applications, etc.
Typically, the types of applications discussed above are developed such that a central server is used to store a repository of data that is used by the respective applications and, often, to download and install the applications themselves. Such a central server can be seen as burdensome due to the additional administrative overhead, additional network infrastructure and sometimes the need for additional protocols to enable devices to communicate with each other via the server.